1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to basketball, and more particularly to a method and apparatus for training a person to shoot free-throws.
2. Description of the Related Art
A key aspect of the basketball free-throw or foul shot is the consistent environment presented to the player. From court to court, the distances involved in making the shot is entirely consistent as are the particular properties of the equipment and environment largely relevant to accomplishing the shot. The absence of a defender attempting to block the shot removes any strategy considerations. Therefore, the ability to successfully make free-throws is a highly trainable skill. The most common method of training for free-throws is simple unaided repetition. Unaided repetition is highly inefficient and has sporadic results.
In attempts to increase training efficiency and improve training results, a variety of techniques and associated equipment have been developed. Few of the previously presented equipment is in common use. There have been a number of patented brace-like structures configured to be worn on the user's arm to restrict or otherwise guide motion (typically of the wrist) in a desired fashion. These orthotic structures appear to be awkward, address a limited aspect of the shooting motion, are not specifically tailored to foul shooting, and suffer from the inherent deficiency that their weight and restriction train the users to shoot under different circumstances than are actually encountered in a game. Other patented training devices involve fixed structures which have a mechanically-guided mock basketball and, appear to resemble exercise equipment. Such machines can only aspire to mimic the “feel” of shooting a basketball, and are no substitute for the actual thing.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,599,016 shows a free-standing device which is purported to develop muscle memory relative to proper hand, wrist, and arm movement, and, in particular to the follow through of the shooting hand after release of the basketball. This involves positioning a rectangular structure above the head of the user so that the user is forced to project the basketball through an aperture in the structure. This device fails to address what we believe are the key aspects of the movements involved in proper foul shooting and further fails to provide instructional feedback to the user.
We have come to observe and understand much about free-throw shooting techniques both good and bad. Because of the uniform circumstances presented by the free-throw, other than a small inherent randomness, the causes of shooting inaccuracy rest entirely with the player, technique, and training. By minimizing potential sources of such inaccuracy, the player's free-throw shooting percentage can be increased. Most, if not all, competitive basketball players at the junior high school, high school, college, and professional levels have sufficient hand/wrist strength to accomplish a free-throw with relatively slight movement of the upper torso and even less movement of the legs. Nevertheless, even some professional players go through very extreme movements during free-throw shooting. In particular, the player often starts standing erect and then initiates a cocking or setting movement: squatting with their legs; lowering their shooting arm so that the shooting elbow is significantly below the shoulder; and flexing that elbow outward. To attempt the shot, the player simultaneously extends his or her legs and shooting arm, bringing their elbow inward as the arm extends.
We believe this extreme range of motion presents a significant source of shooting inaccuracy. At a first level, the greater range of motion from the set point to the release point increases the likelihood that the shooter's release position, speed, and the like may be other than optimal. At a second level, however, this is exacerbated by the fact that the longer range of motion puts the shooter in positions where he or she is more likely to be affected by fatigue. In particular, fatigued legs will greatly affect the amount of propulsion provided by the legs if the shooter makes a deep squat to the set position prior to shooting. Also, lowering of the shooting arm tends to bring the ball down to or below the level of the player's chin. As the player extends his or her shooting arm the ball passes in front of the player's face, moving through the line of sight to the rim so that the player must refocus on the rim as the shot is taken.